“Mom homeschools my brothers. I’m sure she’d allow them to accompany us. I’ll text her.” He tapped out a quick message to his mother before resuming his conversation with the governor. “We have a fun time planned, Governor. I’ll show you around the park as well as behind-the-scenes areas that most guests never see. We’ll break for lunch at one and let the kids help feed theanimals. Later this afternoon there will be an educational time with our ring-tailed lemurs.”
“I love lemurs!” Jackson said, beaming. “I told Gram I hoped you had lemurs.”
Squeals of excitement came from behind them, and Blake didn’t have to turn to know his brothers were rushing their way. They’d be thrilled about spending the day at the park. The boys reached the group, and Blake introduced the kids. Jackson began to pepper them with questions about living on an animal preserve.
Blake glanced around at the adults. The governor had brought two bodyguards, a photographer, and a woman the governor introduced as her aide, Angela Burns. He clasped her hand. “Ms. Burns.” He guessed her age to be around sixty with her soft white hair that lay in a cap around her angular face.
Her shrewd blue eyes took in everything around her with keen interest. “Thank you for accommodating our last-minute request. Jackson is very excited. A visit here was the one thing he wanted for his eighth birthday.”
“We’re honored to hear that.” He waited a few minutes while members of the press snapped pictures as well. “Everyone here?”
“Yes, we’re ready when you are.” The governor nodded at the man with the camera and tripods. “Make sure you get plenty of pictures of me with Jackson.”
“You got it, Governor.”
Blake led them to his best safari truck, though that wasn’t saying much. The seats were cracked from use in places, but he kept the vehicle clean and in good running order. He put the steps into place alongside the high door on the vehicle. Three long rows of seats ran from front to back. The governor ascended with no assistance and took a place on the middle one once the children commandeered the seats along the window openings. Blakehad already loaded the truck with a cooler packed with snacks as well as a box of green leaves for the Serengeti animals. So far the governor seemed pleasant enough. She wasn’t putting on airs or ordering him around.
He exchanged a glance with Paradise, and she inclined her head in approval before she climbed into the back with the guests while he got behind the wheel. He clicked on the intercom. “First off, we’ll visit a small version of what you might see in the Serengeti. You’ll get a chance to feed giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest. They’re very friendly, but don’t get too close to the zebras. They can bite if you aren’t careful. Toss the leaves to them and don’t give them a chance.”
With the rumble of the big engine and the vehicle jolting over ruts in the road, Blake wouldn’t be able to hear questions well until they stopped, so he didn’t try to make conversation. He drove to the first gate, and Paradise jumped out to open and lock it again after he rolled through before letting him in the second gate.
Once they were inside the acres devoted to the Serengeti wildlife, he cut the engine and turned on his mic. “The giraffe on your left is Carla. She’s our oldest giraffe at twenty-five. She’s also our friendliest. She’ll lick you if you give her a chance. If you’re brave, get a photo of her sloppy kiss.”
He cut the mic and listened. The governor appeared to be on a call with someone, and he overheard the termrare earth. Should he take the opportunity to ask the governor what she knew about the valuable resources that might be under this property?
Rare earth.Paradise’s head swiveled at the term, but the governor didn’t notice her interest. She caught Blake’s wide eyes in therearview mirror. He gave a nod, and she nodded back. Maybe she could dig up some information.
Governor George ended the call and dropped her phone into her Hermès bag. She leaned close to her grandson for a photo op as Jackson shrieked with laughter when Carla stuck her head through the glassless window and licked him with her enormous tongue.
Her smile still in place, the governor moved out of reach from the dripping saliva. The photographer dodged the seats to catch shots from different angles and even stood on top of the back of the seat opposite the giraffe. Ms. Burns jotted several things down in a leather notebook.
The photographer looked at his camera and gave a thumbs-up. “Great pics, Governor.”
She smiled and settled back on the middle seat, leaving the boys to clamber from opening to opening with food for the animals. Her grandson was enthralled with the peafowl spreading their feathers in a brilliant display.
“What do you call a group of peafowl?” Paradise asked.
Jackson frowned. “Peafowl?”
“Peacocks.”
His brow cleared. “I don’t know.”
“They’re called an ostentation or a muster. The female is called a peahen, and the male is the peacock. He’s the most colorful one.”
“I wish I could get a feather.” Jackson leaned back on the seat.
“I’ll see if I can find one when we get back,” Paradise promised.
Blake started the engine and rolled slowly through the various wildlife to exit the enclosure. “We’re going to stop at the lemur enclosure next.”
“Yay!” all three boys yelled. They high-fived one another and rushed to the windows.
Blake drove to the next stop while Paradise tried to figure out how to ask the governor about her call. The older woman consulted her phone several times and tapped out a few texts while the children chattered around her. They’d quickly become friends and had exchanged a few Pokémon cards from their pockets. Isaac had even brought his card holder, and Jackson had bargained for Isaac’s favorite card and succeeded in getting it just because he asked. Isaac was like that—his heart was as big as his big brother’s.
The vehicle stopped before Paradise could ask the governor about rare earth. Maybe it was a sign she wasn’t supposed to pry, but it felt like their best chance to find out something about what might be under the soil here. A woman like Governor George would know all about trade, worth, uses, and everything else they didn’t know.
Paradise followed everyone out and prayed for the woman to mention the term again. The strong odor of the primates made her eyes water. The males must have had a stink fight.
